I propose in this topic to share everything we know about the brand ANYTONE of handheld and mobile radios.
LZ1INP, 73!
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I don’t deal with them. Too expensive for what they do.
What radio do you use that would successfully replace ANYTONE?
OK - I’ll try to be serious. Anytone, like so many Chinese radios is not really a brand in the same way that Hytera (for example) would be. Hytera has earned some serious respect for reliability and similar functionality to the non-Chinese players like Motorola, kenwood, Icom, Sepura etc. In their menus you find the real commercial functionality for trunking, olinked systems and really advanced features. The vast majority of Chinese products hover in the mainly amateur or leisure radio market, at those sorts of prices.
For most people, Motorola are viewed as desirable, but known for being expensive. The solidness and reliability is what drives many buyers where price is secondary. We perceive Baofeng, firmly in the leisure market, as cheap and cheerful. They’re often very cheap. Corners are cut with performance, but for their intended use the spec is perfectly workable. Anytone have a placement problem. Perfectly fine radios, but they.re a Chinese product, with no US/UK/EU direct presence. If you wanted to buy 1000, with sophisticated trunking and ID systems with full service backup, you would NOT buy them. They are not trying to compete with Motorola, but compete with the other end of the market. Viewed from outside China, they’re a radio, with a spec and a price, which is too high for my customers, so I don’t even consider them. Could I offer customers a 3 yr warranty, when anything other than basic repairs means you bin them? It currently costs over $40 (US) to send a faulty radio back to china, and that is NOT recoverable. In fact, very few Chinese radios generate that in terms of profit with no service! The Anytone radios often pop up in emails and I read the specs, see the offered price and then look at the TYT, Kydera, Retevis and Zastone products with the same spec and much lower price?
Do you think Anytone has something the others don’t? Maybe I have missed it = what is their unique selling point to justify the higher price?
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I will agree with you and you are right. As for all novice radio amateurs, most are turning to something cheap and affordable. And that’s bao. A very small percentage buy higher-end radio. In fact, my first talkie was the Baofeng 1702 GPS version. In the beginning (about 7-8 months) I used it. There were problems in both analog and digital - I am quietly received, a lot of noise, etc. Looking at the market and judging my money, I decided that ANYTONE is the most suitable for me - functionality, intelligibility, power, satisfactory sound quality of reception and transmission. And yes, there are better radios than other brands. This is my choice for now. At the right time ($$) I will buy another class / brand
radio.
I opened the topic for this brand because it could help those who decide to buy or have bought it and have some problems. And something else. There is no and almost no mention of this brand in this forum, no matter how Chinese it is. Everyone extends according to their abilities, right? You may have the highest class in your country, but when you don’t have the money to buy the radio you want, you buy something compromise and raise money for something really worthwhile.
I like my AnyTone AT-588V2. It is simple to operate. It is not the radio’s fault that 220MHz is limited to one region. I DO wish there were more FM users on that band. Most of the users are using AM/SSB from high-end radios connected through an expensive transverter (which may also be expensive). I guess it allows a somewhat “exclusive” group to have some bandwidth dedicated to their usage. I had joined a mail list for the 220MHz band and was told I should probably get my HF license and radio and transverter and just forget the FM operation. He was right… nothing but crickets on the 12 repeaters most of the time. Maybe they are intended for EMCOMM usage only?
So, to share something about mine.
Positives:
The 4 powers are as described. Wonderfully audio-powerful, clear modulation, well-balanced audio frequencies. The microphone is amplified enough at the default value. GPS works great, especially in APRS mode. Configure 90% of it without the help of CPS. It is quite enough. The battery (3100 mAh) lasts about 3 days at an average load of 4-5 hours a day mixed power.
Negatives:
If there were more squelch values ​​and it was connected to each stored channel, it would be better. It scans slowly. Sometimes it drops 1-2 seconds. from the beginning of the correspondent’s report. There is no quick button for permanent monitor (for analog mode). VOX (released from the menu) is activated by pressing the P1 button or the MENU button. Sometimes it changes the power when you press P1 for a long time. The keyboard is made of some strange rubber and some inscriptions have already worn out. No phonebook is shown in digital mode.
Overall, the radio works very well. I have been using it every day for 3 years - in the city, in the mountains, by bike …
I managed to unlock 200 MHz.band, but in my country it is banned for HAM. Works well with all compatible and ORIGINAL antennas.
I think there is no issue with the brand, or their performance, but they are pitched at a price point where you could buy Yaesu, icon, kenwood and a few others who have real dealer networks. When I sell a Yaesu product here in the UK, there is a real warranty behind it. I rarely need it, but it is there. If I sell a TYT, is very, very good value for money, but I make exactly the same profit on the sale, and the occasional fault mic micro switch or the more common beep beep beep dead fault is my problem. Return or manufacturer involvement is impossible. It takes a lot of radio sales to recover the purchase price. This is why I don’t sell anyone. The risk is too high for a China sourced process.
I have an Anytone 868 and a878. both are good, solid radios. I love mine. The big three don’t have any DMR equipment, so the Chinese companies are the way to go. I don’t like how they sound on analog…but they do work.
Interesting topic b
ut I would also like to unlock 200MHz band. How did you do this ?
Thanks
Doug MM7DSA